This Week in Abortion, March 25, 2023
This Week in Abortion, March 25, 2023
A collection of good reads, events from the week, and policy insights.
Welcome back to your weekly roundup of good reads, legal updates, and legislative tracking on abortion. We are taking a break from the features this week, but there is plenty to read, including lots of action in Wyoming to catch up on.
Good Reads
A new report provides a survey of abortion restrictions across the globe. Including, in six countries “some abortion-seekers can face life in prison.” The report is a reminder that globally there is a lot of work to do and that while some states are on par with some of the worst in the world - in Alabama and Texas, for example, abortion providers face up to life in prison and in Mississippi they may face murder charges - many other US states are leading the way in access.
Speaking of, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights began a hearing that could impact abortion access across South America. The case should sound very familiar by now. Reuters explains, “a woman… was denied an abortion in 2013 despite doctors' calls to terminate her high-risk pregnancy.”
This ProPublica story is incredibly powerful. It drives home the ways in which these bans are another symptom of our frustrating inability to support one another in this country and to build systems that fix problems instead of punish people.
As we continue to wait on that judge in Texas, here is an informative article from Sofia Resnick on the case and why mifepristone might not disappear, even with a biased court involved. While you’re at it, The Texas Tribune explains the ancient law that bans mailing anything related to abortion - it’s a law we will be seeing more of in the coming months.
Events of the Week
Massachusetts’ Governor reminded pharmacies that they must “maintain a continuous, sufficient supply of all family planning medications.” Often? we see such moves as political fluff. But, as pharmacies continue to operate in a state of fear and confusion, fluff like this becomes more substantial.
Hawaii expanded access, similar to Illinois, California, Maryland, and others, the state will now allow physician assistants to perform abortions and allow at-home medicated abortions.
Kansas is nearing passage of a bill that would require physicians to try to save the life of a fetus born alive during an abortion. The bill is a pretty blatant attempt to subvert the clear pro-access sentiment voters expressed in the 2022 election. According to the professionals who have spoken out on this bill and similar ones, live births due to abortions today are largely nonexistent. If all Republicans are on board there are enough votes to override the Governor’s veto. In the House, a few Democrats even jumped on the bill. So, if legislators want the bill to become law, it will.
New Hampshire’s House approved two pro-access bills. The first would decriminalize abortion procedures after 24 weeks, the second puts to voters a constitutional amendment stating a right to abortion up to 24 weeks. It’s assumed that the senate will vote down both bills. But, the House's vote, especially on the constitutional amendment is notable for the three Republicans who joined with the Democrats to pass it.
A hospital in Idaho that is shutting down its obstetrical (pregnancy and birth) services cited the state’s abortion laws as one of the reasons. As Axios explains, obstetrical services are considered money pits and are often the first services to go when hospitals face financial pressure. So, a hospital shutting down this practice is remarkably unremarkable. Such is the state of maternal health and healthcare in rural America. It is, however, refreshing to see a hospital calling out the bans as a major problem. Most hospital systems are still treating abortion as a third rail. Even worse, they are actively ignoring it by giving money to anti-access politicians. Just this past year, Idaho Governor Brad Little received nearly 150k from health-related donors including the Idaho Hospital Association, the Idaho Medical Association, Pfizer, and insurance companies like Blue Cross of Idaho. These industries make up 12% of his non-individual donors for the year. That’s not insignificant. And while there isn’t hard data yet on how doctors are responding to these bans nationally, the stories about doctors giving up and shipping out are piling up and up.
ABC News has concise coverage of Kansas’s “born alive” bill and the Idaho hospital statement:
Legal Updates
It was an exciting week in Wyoming. As we shared on Saturday, the legislature passed a new ban on abortion that was immediately taken to court. On Wednesday this week, a judge blocked the new law, just as other judges have done with the previous ban. Vox has a great story explaining how language in Wyoming’s constitution, put there by conservative opponents of Obamacare, is now helping the fight against abortion bans. Ohio, Arizona, and Oklahoma all have similar amendments in their constitutions. It’s unclear how far the language will go towards helping advocates, given conservative supreme courts. Still, it’s a fun twist.
Also in Wyoming, a woman was charged with the bombing last year of an abortion clinic.
Speaking of, Oklahoma’s Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling on the state’s abortion ban, finding that women have the right to abortion if their life is at risk, the existing law only allowed abortions in cases of a medical emergency. It’s a step, but it’s also not immediately clear how accessible abortions will be as a result. Hopefully, there will be more to come.
